28th Amendment: Holding Congress Accountable

One of the most frequent complaints that I have heard about Congress is that its members live under a different set of rules from the rest of the public. The idea that members of Congress should be able to create special exemptions from themselves is not only patently unfair, it is also contrary to the spirit of constitutionalism articulated by the Founding Fathers and reflected in the Constitution. As James Madison wrote in The Federalist No. 57, once it becomes acceptable "to tolerate a law not obligatory on the legislature, as well as on the people, the people will be prepared to tolerate anything but liberty."

That is why Congressman Matt Salmon and I have introduced what we hope will be the 28th amendment to the Constitution: Congress shall make no law respecting the citizens of the United States that does not also apply to the senators and representatives. Together we wrote an editorial for the Washington Times that lays out the case for why we need this important amendment - you can read the editorial by clicking here.

On the very day that Congressman Salmon and I introduced this constitutional amendment that serves to prohibit Congress from exempting themselves from the laws that they pass, we received word that the Obama Administration has created an administrative rule that will relieve members of Congress and their staffs from the higher health care costs that the rest of America will bear under the 2010 health care law. My amendment is based on the simple notion that Congress must live under the same laws as everybody else. If Congress imposes burdens on the American people as a whole, then members of Congress must also face those burdens. This is an inarguable proposition if you believe in constitutional government.

Please find more information on my proposed 28th amendment below.